THE vacant Altrincham General Hospital could be torn down and replaced with a health and well-being centre if new plans get the green light.

An application to redevelop the Market Street hospital, which has laid empty since services were relocated to the purpose-built Altrincham Hospital on Railway Street in 2015, will go before Trafford’s planning chiefs on Thursday February 11.

Designed by AFL Architects, the scheme would see the demolition of the existing buildings, and the original Victorian façade, which dates from 1870’s, would be rebuilt to the north east of its current location.

The four-storey Health and Wellbeing Hub would incorporate a library, pharmacy, café/health retail, public health services and GP practices. The public health areas would include consultant rooms, treatment rooms, waiting area, recovery rooms, separate children’s ward, counselling rooms, staff zones and offices, and training rooms.

A basement car park would provide 101 parking spaces and Pott Street would be transformed into a pedestrian priority public square. 

The plans form part of Trafford Clinical Commissioning Group strategy to increase primary care and community services through a neighbourhood approach, which will in turn ‘lead to a reduction in people having to attend hospital for their care’.

In a planning statement, the applicant, City Branch, said: “The existing hospital was developed in 1870 and has had many extensions and alterations over the years which have created a disjointed hospital building that delivers inefficient and uncoordinated spaces for patients and staff, and which is not fit for the delivery of 21st century health facilities to meet the needs of the local community.

“Further, the existing buildings are discordant and do not contribute to an attractive, welcoming or user-friendly street scene. The proposal will not only deliver a scheme which will benefit the health and wellbeing of the local community, but it will also contribute to the revitalisation of a key area in Altrincham town centre.

“The scheme incorporates the delivery of public realm improvements and community facilities including a pharmacy, library and café, which will add vibrancy to a currently redundant street scene and attract people to the area.

“The proposed development will deliver a scheme that will support economic growth, create jobs, provide necessary infrastructure to support the health and wellbeing of a community, redevelop Altrincham Town Centre, and support day-time local economies.”

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